Experienced Hospitality Professional

RAJEEV GIDWANEY

Phone: 905-***-****

Cell: 647-***-****

**************@*******.***

Executive Summary

• Accomplished manager with 14 years of hospitality experience in North America and Asia. Independently handled room divisions, lobby and restaurants at flagship hotel of 5-star luxury boutique hotel chain and a budget hotel chain.

• Implemented key systems and processes to improve guest satisfaction.

• Excellent experience in handling property management systems and software including Opera 2.8 and 5, Inn front, Fidelio, and food and beverage software including Micros and MS-DOS based systems.

• A problem solver and team builder with good guest interaction skills exceeding their expectations.

• Expert level spoken and written English; basic French as needed for culinary purposes. Expert level spoken and written Hindi and Bengali.

Experience

The Park Kolkata, India flagship property of The Park 5-star deluxe luxury boutique chain

Front Office Manager 2010- 2011

• Independently handled room divisions. Led a team of 30 front office staff of bell desk, telephone operators and business centre. Achieved 89% in the IQ audit for customer satisfaction.

• Supervised and managed all aspects of the front office; monitored rooms inventory, rate and plan availability; ensured adequate staffing levels for all departments - front desk, communication department, and night audit; developed and implemented training and development plans; managed department forecasts and budgets for both line expenses and payroll.

• Worked with sales department to achieve highest occupancy - over 91% - amongst competitors in the city, while maintaining a healthy average daily room rate (ADR) revenue. Exceeded target revenues, earned US$4.5 million.

• Implemented a new process with a database to track guest preferences and complaints over multiple visits. Using this effectively predicted guest choices and improved satisfaction levels.

• Worked with the HR department to implement a "Buddy System" that paired new staff with an experienced team member. This greatly reduced staff training time and costs, increased employee satisfaction and reduced turnover of employees in the front office.

Asst. Manager and Lobby Manager, front office 2005- 2010

• Supervised a team of 24. Closely interacted with regular and V.I.P guests - celebrities, politicians, corporate management and diplomats.

• Commended by Managing Director and CEO for exceeding guest expectations in all aspects – room quality, food and beverages and service. Handled guest complaints, resolved day to day issues and obtained guest feedback

• Managed the entire hotel during the night shift, handling emergencies and stressful situations. Developed processes for night auditing; independently handled and prepared night audit reports.

• Managed reservations - detailed knowledge in handling e-channels, groups, corporate and travel agencies. Prepared reservation statistics report for the corporate sales office. Introduced and implemented standard operating procedures for check in, checkout, cost control analysis, duty roster, reservations, VIP arrivals, group arrivals and foreigners check in.

The Kenilworth, India

Senior Assistant Manager, Front Office 2001-2005

• Managed front office operations. Monitored check in and checkout, and guest interaction. Stood in for Duty Manager.

• Handled night audits on MS-DOS based software. Actively participated in upgrade to a Windows based property management system.

• Developed job manuals for associates in the front office, specifying duties and responsibilities.

Senior Supervisor, The Kenilworth Beach Resort 2000-2001

• Managed key pre-opening projects in sales, front office, food and beverages - supervised a team of 30.

• Set up the food and beverage department – created restaurant layouts, bar books, kitchen order systems. Supervised completion of four outlets – coffee shop, pool bar, service bar and speciality restaurant. Prepared processes and systems for the front office.

• Promoted property to major multinationals companies in Goa (e.g. Coca Cola). Maintained excellent business relations with clients.

• Planned and executed the Christmas dinner and New Year’s Eve party earning excellent revenues

Senior Captain and Trainee Captain, fine dining restaurant, and the bar, The Kenilworth 1997-1999

• Supervised a team of 16. Managed the bar books, restaurant inventory of cutlery, linen and supplies for daily operations. Handled the wine inventory of the bar and assisted in bar auditing.

• Planned and executed 6 food festivals independently. Achieved record sale for the restaurant in 1998 during The Bengali Food Festival.

• Maximized revenue and minimized costs. Introduced new cocktails and mock tails that helped in pushing sales and maximizing the revenue.Achieved highest beverage sale in 1997 for the outlet.

The South Seas Resort, Captiva Island, Florida, USA

Student Intern 1999-2000

• Worked in a fine dining restaurant serving over 400 varieties of wine. Achieved higher wine sales of the restaurant by implementing innovative up selling techniques. Handled wedding groups of up to 25 people with 1 assistant server. Contributed to menu design and selection of dishes for the New American French Nouvelle cuisine menu.

• Supervised small, medium to large conferences for the banquet operations of the resort.

• Independently supervised the deli at a store, making sandwiches and submarines.

Education

• Bachelor of Applied Science In Hospitality Administration from New Hampshire College; Manchester; NH, U.S.A.

• Diploma in Hospitality Management from American Hotel and Motel Association of America, Michigan, U.S.A.

• Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology from International Institute Of Hotel Management; Salt Lake, Kolkata

• Bachelor of Commerce from Indira Gandhi National Open University: New Delhi; India.

Commendations

• Merit certificate from Videsh Sanchar Nigam for Public Speaking.

• Served in Leadership Training Service, India.

• Awarded Gold Medal in Food & Beverages from I.I.H.M, Kolkata.

• Awarded the Best Lobby Manager for the year 2009-2010.

• Commendation Mail received by Director Rooms for effectively handling Crew Movement at The Park Kolkata, 2010.

• Letter of Appreciation received from The General Manager’s office for achieving highest ADR and room revenue sales in the month of December 2011.

References on request

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